Netanyahu’s Deceptive Game
With the new report by the well-known Axios journalist, released after a three-hour meeting between Netanyahu and Antony Blinken, it has become clear that Netanyahu continues to deceive everyone, including naturally deceiving his own government officials.
By adding specific conditions regarding the control of the Philadelphi Corridor, he has made the mediators’ work difficult.
The Defense Minister and heads of security organizations explicitly told him that even without controlling the corridor, they are capable of intercepting arms smuggling into Gaza, and what Netanyahu proposed as corridor control is a structure that would take months to establish.
They warned him that the lives of hostages would be at risk without an agreement.
On the other hand, Netanyahu has tied the hands of the negotiating team and has not allowed any flexibility in discussions with Egyptian officials over the Philadelphi Corridor.
Beyond all the points raised in this report and other narratives in recent hours, one specific point holds importance.
The Israeli negotiating team informed Netanyahu upon their return from Doha that with his added conditions, Hamas would not accept the agreement, and Netanyahu, assured of no agreement, both before and after meeting with Blinken, preemptively announced his agreement with the terms of a deal that was already on the verge of collapse.
Neither Hamas nor Netanyahu will easily provide a major achievement for Biden and Harris in a situation where the Democratic Party of America is holding its convention.
Biden’s foreign policy team and Blinken himself, relying on Netanyahu’s announcement of agreement with the deal and without wasting time worrying about Netanyahu’s future games, will continue to try to convince Hamas and pressure Netanyahu to abandon his recent demands using other levers. Meanwhile, the foreign policy team also keeps an eye on the threat from Iran and is negotiating to prevent a potential conflict between Iran and Israel.
Brett McGurk’s tough and exhausting days are unending.
